Thoughts from a liberal who isn't the least bit leftist

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Monthly Archives: March 2012

Indiana Senator Richard Lugar is running for re-election this year. He’s the one Republican I won’t be voting for this year. I was offended by former Senator Evan Bayh’s claiming his in state residence as a condominium which he never lived in. Senator Lugar’s continued listing of the house he sold 35 years ago as his Indiana address may fill the literal letter of the law, but it most certainly does not fulfill the spirit of the law. Furthermore the Senator’s tone deafness on earmarks, something which the Senator may not have abused, but his colleagues on the other side of the aisle certainly have abused repeatedly is unacceptable.

Finally, this post from Gary Welch has put the icing on the cake. Someone sent an anonymous complaint to a professional organization that one of Senator Lugar’s critics belongs to complaining about the actions of the critic. The “anonymous” compliant included email exchanges between the critic and a member of Senator Lugar’s staff about the issues in question.

There have been several articles on the web about the IRS and its inquiries into Tea Party organizations filing for status as a charitable organization. Political organizations, such as political parties, are clearly not charitable according to the Internal Revenue Code. Political organizations are granted not for profit status, but as they are not deemed charitable, they are tax deductible. So my question is does the IRS enforce the terms of the Internal Revenue code as vigorously against left of center organizations as strictly as it does ones perceived to be right of center? Is their extreme vigilance in enforcement of the law only confined to those organizations that advocate for less government spending, lower taxes, and therefore a reduced presence of the Internal Revenue Service?